Monday, 27 October 2008

Mountain Marathon Musings

Amid talks of a credit crunch, a recession and Britney Spears day to day activities i have to wonder whether good old mother nature felt a little....left out. I say that because every time we stop complaining about the weather or our lack of a summer long enough to focus on something else - nature rears it's attention seeking side. Personally i think mother nature just likes the media attention, as seen with her full blown attack on the OMM this weekend.

The vast over-exaggeration from the news today stating that the lake district nearly became a 'morgue' was just the comic relief i needed to cheer me up after all the new equipment i bought for the mountain marathon went unused because for the first time ever it was cancelled due to the weather.

My new North Face Waterproof Jacket was really put to the test this weekend and I'm happy to say that despite the odds it did keep me dry and that's probably why I'm not one of the unfortunate people who apparently left the Lake District with hypothermia this weekend.

I'm disappointed more than anything because this year i went all out. I did a lot more training than previous times, was looking to test in view of reviewing a lot of new equipment and was ready for a tiring but fun weekend. The pocket rocket camping stove will have to remain unreviewed at this point. Setting up my tent in the living room and running on a treadmill for hours ready to settle into some dehydrated food delights and a bag of Romney's fudge just didn't have as much appeal as enduring the rigors and sheer beauty of the Lake District.

I have to say though most of us out there this weekend were blissfully unaware of the epic over-exaggeration the media was making of things to the point of me strolling back in the house a little disappointed and slightly soggy and having to explain to my partner that i hadn't just come from the worlds most disorganized event and England's worst natural disaster as the news would have you believe, but instead I'd come from a well organized, well taken care of event where the organizers had full control and made the right decision to start the marathon and to cancel it when they did. Another great testament to the hard work of the Mountain Rescuers.


Roll on next year i say.

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